Greensboro, NC - When U.S. Service Members return home from war, for many of them, another battle begins, coping with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
PTSD is caused from experiencing extreme trauma or life threatening events, and soldiers suffering from this disorder find themselves unable to sleep, having nightmares, and afraid to go out in public.
Suicides among soldiers has been blamed, in part, on PTSD.
In 2010, more U.S. soldiers died from suicide than combat.
Patriot Rovers, based in High Point, is one organization on a mission to help service members return to as much normalcy as possible through the help of service dogs.
Patriot Rovers takes risus dogs and trains them to be service dogs for service members suffering from PTSD.
Terry White is one soldier whose life has been changed from a service dog.
After returning home from Iraq, White's family realized something wasn't right when he could no longer go to his son's baseball games due to the crowds.
Patriot Rovers matched Terry with Faith, a golden retriever, and with Faith, Terry was able to regain a sense of normalcy.
Service dogs serve as a protector for service members, they wake them from nightmares, and help diffuse situations that are triggers for PTSD.
Jason Gregory served in Iraq and also has PTSD, and told News 2 he was so worried about being in crowds, he would only go to large department stores like Walmart at 2 am.
His dog, Fleet, has helped give him a sense of normal life back, and is helping him cope with PTSD.
Market America, a product brokerage and internet marketing company based in Greensboro, is a supporter of Patriot Rovers, and a reminder that the dogs are expensive to train.
Market America is currently sponsoring two dogs, the dogs costing between $6,000 and $10,000 each to train.
The dogs are given to the veterans for free, and the cost is one of the reasons it is so important that Patriot Rovers receive the communities help.
If you want to help Patriot Rovers, there is a fundraiser Monday night at Chick-fil-A.
From 5:00 - 8:00 pm, 15% of the proceeds will go to Patriot Rovers.